BEMIDJI, Minn. (Feb. 22, 2011) — Bemidji State University’s chapter of Ducks Unlimited, the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving waterfowl habitats, has been recognized as a “DU Sweet 16” chapter by the national organization for its fundraising success.

Ducks Unlimited has more than 120 collegiate chapters nationwide. In order to qualify for the DU Sweet 16, chapters were required to raise at least $11,000 in grassroots income during the 2010 calendar year. Ducks Unlimited collegiate chapters raised nearly $514,000 in 2010, with more than $290,000 of that total coming from the Sweet 16 chapters alone.

Bemidji State’s chapter eighth in the 2010 DU Sweet 16, raising $19,000 for the year. The Aggieland Chapter in College Station, Texas, was the top chapter, raising $29,000. Others in the DU Sweet 16 were North Carolina State University; the University of Alabama; the Milwaukee School of Engineering; the University of North Carolina-Wilmington; East Carolina University; Purdue University; Mississippi State University; Colorado State University; Iowa State University; Citadel Ducks Unlimited; Louisiana Tech Dawgs; Auburn University; the University of Arkansas Razorback Chapter; and Kansas State University.

“Ducks Unlimited’s university program has become a critical part of our overall fundraising program,” David Schuessler, Ducks Unlimited’s national director of grassroots fundraising, said in a statement released by the organization. “Not only is it vital from a direct fiscal perspective, but it’s also a source of organizational awareness and a strong and consistent volunteer base.

“The volunteers who make up these 16 college chapters are the future conservation leaders of not only DU, but all conservation efforts in the country,” Schuessler added.

• DU to host Sportsman’s Night Out on Friday
Bemidji State University’s Ducks Unlimited chapter will host a Sportsman’s Night Out event on the BSU campus Friday, Feb. 25. The event will be a raffle-only event with food and beverages, with displays of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear.

Tickets are $25 and must be purchased in advance; tickets will not be sold at the door. The event will begin at 6 p.m. in the Beaux Arts Ballroom in Bemidji State’s upper Hobson Memorial Union. Attendees who wear camoflage or blaze orange shirt will be entered into a drawing to win a free gun.

For tickets, call (763) 496-7462.

About Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 12 million acres, thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.